Grants, Contract Awards - Set Another Record at $48
Million

FRESNO, Calif. (Dec. 16, 2003) -- Fresno State recorded another
banner year for grants and contracts in 2002-03. Projects funded by
non-state entities increased to more than $48 million, nearly 25
percent higher than the previous year’s high of $38
million.

The new total marks the sixth consecutive year of that faculty
and staff have secured record totals in external funding for
sponsored projects. Sponsored project funding has quadrupled since
1997.

A grant to the Division of Continuing and Global Education to
improve agriculture and open international markets for Armenian
farm produce provides internships at Getnatun Winery in Armenia for
these students.

"Our grant funding capacity is expanding as faculty members
continue to become more experienced at capturing the attention of
funding sources," said Dr. Thomas McClanahan, associate vice
president for University Research, Grants and Contracts. "In
addition, faculty are backed by proactive administrators who
encourage them to seek and create new programs and opportunities
within their schools and colleges, despite state budget
realities."

The University Grants and Research Office works closely with
faculty to prepare and submit proposals. Last year more than 500
proposals were submitted to outside agencies. President Welty
reaffirmed recently that he wants this trend to continue, and has
directed a new task force to guide the reorganization of grants and
contracts so that pre-award activities and post-award
administration both fall under a single administrative structure on
campus. The reorganization is expected to take most of 2004.

Fresno State receives project and research funding from numerous
sources, including federal, state and municipal agencies and
private foundations.

Key federal sources include the National Science Foundation, the
National Institutes of Health, the Department of Education and the
Department of Agriculture.

Important state funding sources include the California Energy
Commission, Department of Education, the Department of Water
Resources and the Department of Food and Agriculture. Examples of
private funding sources include the Public Utilities Commission,
The California Endowment, the Garabedian Foundation, the James
Irvine Foundation, the American Vineyard Foundation, the Coleman
Foundation and the California Wellness Foundation.

The grants vary enormously in size and focus. Biology Professor
Shirley Kovacs, for example, is in her fourth year of administering
the SCORE program, funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Through multiple contracts over several years, a total of more than
$2.4 million in NIH funding supports meritorious,
investigator-initiated research projects in biomedical or
behavioral sciences. Individual faculty funded through this program
include Dr. Alejandro Calderon-Urrea, Dr. Jim Prince, Dr. Jorge
Benetiz, Dr. Maurice Cohen, and Dr. Christine Edmondson.

The College of Health and Human Services recently received a
multi-year grant of more than $2 million from The California
Endowment to establish and operate the Central Valley Health Policy
Institute. The grant will help facilitate an interactive regional
process to identify, monitor, and analyze emerging health policy
issues that influence the health status of people living in Central
California. The goal is to develop the infrastructure and regional
capacity for addressing health policy issues that affect valley
residents by implementing leadership development activities,
facilitating community engagement in research, and conducting
educational and training programs.

Dr. Dennis Nef, interim dean of Undergraduate Studies and the
former associate dean of the College of Agricultural Science and
Technology, continues to receive funding to support a variety of Ag
Literacy activities. The programs are geared to encourage
participants to think out of the box about careers in agriculture,
exposing them to ag-related professions beyond field labor as well
as to the ag programs offered at the university.

This year’s awards from the CF3 group (Kellogg Foundation)
includes more than $50,000 for community-based activities
emphasizing the importance of agriculture in the rural community of
Firebaugh and an outreach effort to the farm worker families of a
ranch owner in rural Orange Cove. In addition, a 3-year grant from
USDA ($299,482), provides funding to encourage regional high school
and community college students into enter ag programs and
careers.

McClanahan is enthusiastic about the extraordinary growth in
grant and contract funding but also realistic about the near-term
prospects for more expansion.

"I am optimistic, but the next few years are likely to present
some unique and difficult challenges, especially for California
universities like Fresno State. The state budget crisis may already
have begun to erode potential sources of research funds, and the
growing federal budget deficit will undoubtedly take a toll as
well. In addition, the transition to managing grants and contracts
through the state will certainly require the University Research,
Grants and Contracts Office and some faculty to focus on mastering
a new process," he said.

"For a year or two, things will be very difficult, but given the
necessary internal resources, in the long run our grants and
contracts program has the potential to grow in both size and
sophistication," McClanahan said.

Some of Fresno State’s recent major grants:

Title: Central Valley Health Policy Institute

Amount of Award: $537,903 (year 1 of 5)
Project director: Dr. Benjamin Cuellar
Purpose: To create a regional health research and services
partnership with a broad range of health care entities in Central
California
College/School: College of Health and Human Services

Title: Making Invisible Lives Visible: Farmworkers in the San
Joaquin Valley

Amount of Award: $5,000
Project director: Dr. Kathryn Forbes
Purpose: To document the life stories of farmworker families
struggling in the Five Points area of Fresno County
College/School: College of Social Sciences

Title: Community College Outreach and Recruitment

Amount of Award: $299,482
Project Director: Dr. Dennis Nef
Purpose: To encourage regional high school and community
college students to enter agriculture programs and to pursue ag
careers.
College/School: College of Agricultural Science and
Technology

Title: Going Global

Amount of Award: $160,000
Project Director: Dr. Ali Peyvandi and Dr. Rufus Waters
Purpose: To train students seeking careers in export
businesses and to help promote businesses that hire these students
College/School: Craig School of Business

Title: Garabedian Scholarships

Title: USDA - Armenia Agribusiness

Amount of Award: $128,677
Project Director: William Erysian
Purpose: To improve agriculture and open international
markets for Armenian farm produce
College/School: Division of Continuing and Global
Education

Title: The Support of Continuous Research Excellence (SCORE)
Program

Amount of Award: $2.4 million total over multiple years
Project director: Dr. Shirley Kovacs
Purpose: To increase the numbers of underrepresented minority
faculty, investigators and students engaged in biomedical or
behavioral research. Individual faculty funded for research grant
include Dr. Alejandro Calderon-Urrea, Dr. Jim Prince, Dr. Jorge
Benetiz, Dr. Maurice Cohen, and Dr. Christine Edmondson.
College/School: College of Science and Mathematics